Bobcats beat Hilltoppers in tourney opener

Thursday

Dec 27, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By John Doylejdoyle@fosters.com

DURHAM — Her prettiest shot of the night looked like a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter, but it didn’t count. So Cassidy Kolter did the next best thing by making a couple of memorable baskets in the the fourth.

Denied the glory when her shot was ruled too late (she likely would have been ruled out of bounds as well) Kolter hit a pair of key 3-pointers in the fourth to help the Oyster River High School girls basketball team close the door on Somersworth with a 54-39 victory Wednesday night. It was the opening night of the Bobcat Invitational Basketball Tournament.

“My dad was watching tonight,” Kolter said with a laugh. “Gotta put on a good game.”

Kolter hit a baseline 3-pointer from opposite corners of the court in the fourth, part of a run that turned a three-point advantage into a seven point lead. She scored eight of her 11 points in the final frame. The Bobcats of Division II kept the Division III Hilltoppers scoreless over the final 6:40 of the game.

Even though the game did not count in the regular-season standings for either team, Kolter said the Bobcats wanted to redeem themselves after a lackluster performance in a 43-38 loss at Kennett just before the holiday break.

“We had a lot of energy coming out after that loss,” Kolter said. “This was a good win to get tonight.”

Oyster River freshman guard Sara Messler scored a team-high 15 points to lead the Bobcats. Somersworth’s Rachel Hill led all scorers with 23 points, including 13 of the Hilltoppers’ 14 points in the first quarter.

After a first quarter that featured six lead changes and was thrice tied, Oyster River took the lead for good early in the second quarter when a jumper by Allie Harris gave the Bobcats an 18-17 lead.

Somersworth kept it close throughout the remainder of the first half and most of the third period. A layup by Oyster River’s Claire Salmon gave the home team a 23-17 lead with 4:16 to go, its biggest lead of the first half. But Hill, who had sat out the first four minutes of the second stanza, returned to score four points in a 7-2 Hilltopper run. Oyster River led 25-24 at the break.

“It was an uphill battle,” Somersworth coach Jeff Francoeur said. “It was hard to do anything inside. We were actually passing the ball well on offense, but any time we got it inside, it would end up a block.”

The teams traded the first six buckets of the second half, then Oyster River began to pull away. Salmon and Megan Comeau scored buckets and Salmon hit the first of two free throws to give the Bobcats a 36-30 lead. Hill responded with back-to-back jumpers to get the Hilltoppers within two, and Oyster River led 38-35 after three stops.

“I was happy with the way we played, playing up a class,” coach Francoeur said. “That’s what we’re trying to get out of this tournament, we’re trying to get better. I think we did a lot of good things. Toward the end we couldn’t hit a shot and it got out of hand, but I got to play all 13 girls who were here.”

Hill was on fire in the first quarter, scoring every single one of her team’s points from the field. On three occasions she scored following a steal. Oyster River led 16-14 after the first period and got key baskets from Kolter (a 3-pointer) and Messler, who converted a 3-point play to give the Bobcats a 12-11 lead with 3:30 to go.

“We were a little stressed out at the end, forcing shots,” Somersworth senior guard Allie Francoeur said. “We have to learn to relax, take our time and look for what’s open.”

Oyster River returns to action today at 4 p.m. against Timberlane. The Hilltoppers are scheduled to play against Timberlane on Friday at 5:30 p.m.